Minnesota unveils website to counter DHS misinformation
Minnesota has introduced a new website presenting evidence to challenge what state officials describe as federal misinformation, following the fatal shooting of two residents by immigration agents. This development has intensified a rift experts called unprecedented on Monday.
The state additionally pursued legal action to secure evidence from the Saturday incident after federal authorities prevented its own investigators from accessing the scene.
Experts note that the emerging conflict between Minnesota and the U.S. government contradicts years of cooperative efforts between local and federal law enforcement agencies.
They also stated the state has been compelled to act by an administration that has broken with decades of established practice. This includes refusing state officials access to evidence collected by federal authorities and preventing the federal Civil Rights Division from investigating the January 7 killings of Pretti and another individual by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
Former federal prosecutors from both Republican and Democratic administrations described the division as deeply concerning. However, a Monday phone call between Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and President Donald Trump may indicate a path forward, as both sides reported progress.
An unusual website launch
The Minnesota Department of Corrections unveiled a website that its leaders said is aimed at countering Department of Homeland Security misinformation disseminated after Pretti’s death. The site provides instances where Minnesota officials complied with federal requests to detain individuals subject to deportation orders, contradicting the Trump administration’s assertion that such people are often released.
Department officials also released videos depicting peaceful transfers of custody from state prison to federal authorities for several individuals. The Trump administration had claimed these individuals were arrested by immigration agents during an ongoing enforcement operation.
The department further issued a news release attempting to refute federal claims regarding the criminal histories of people targeted by federal agents, including a man central to a Saturday operation near where Pretti was shot. The release stated the department never held this man in custody and could only locate decade-old, traffic-related misdemeanor violations. U.S. Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino stated at a Saturday news conference that the man had a substantial criminal record.
Jimmy Gurulé, a University of Notre Dame law professor, said he witnessed jurisdictional disputes and other conflicts while serving as a federal prosecutor collaborating with local authorities on task forces in Los Angeles, and later as a U.S. Treasury undersecretary overseeing law enforcement under George W. Bush. However, he called the Minnesota situation “unprecedented” in his experience.
“Disagreements were always managed privately. Public criticism of other agencies never occurred,” Gurulé said.
“Collaboration is not even the issue now. The relationship is severely damaged,” he added. “How has it reached a point where state and local law enforcement have so little faith in federal agencies that they believe court intervention is necessary?”
Seeking relief in court
Following Saturday’s shooting, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office filed a federal lawsuit to preserve evidence gathered by federal officials from the Pretti shooting. A federal judge approved a motion prohibiting the Trump administration from “destroying or altering evidence.”
Federal officials labeled the lawsuit and its suggestion that the government would destroy evidence as “ridiculous.”
State officials are not alone in their worry about a departure from the standard practice of decades, which typically involves the Department of Justice and its Civil Rights Division investigating the constitutionality of an officer’s use of force, particularly when it is lethal. Instead, DHS officials have stated their own department will probe the two Minneapolis shootings.
“Under normal circumstances, you would expect the Justice Department to initiate an investigation into the shooting,” said Chris Mattei, a former federal prosecutor in Connecticut who served under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. “They have traditionally been the independent body for such investigations. But it seems this Justice Department and Civil Rights Division have no interest in upholding constitutional rights for citizens within the immigration arena.”
Mattei, now a partner at the Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder law firm representing several former FBI employees in termination lawsuits, suggested that under Trump, the Justice Department appears unwilling to alter the broad discretion agents have been granted for immigration enforcement.
“These are career investigators,” he said. “They might disagree on investigative methods or evidence handling. But in my experience, they typically share the goal of conducting a credible investigation.”
Gurulé described the state’s lawsuit, particularly the evidence preservation motion, as “shocking.”
“The implication is they are not merely withholding evidence but potentially destroying it,” he said. “Clearly, the state attorney general and Minneapolis police have profound distrust for ICE and DHS. There are clearly major disagreements over the tactics ICE has employed.”
Signs reconciliation might be possible
On Monday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt sought to separate President Trump from comments by deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller, who characterized Pretti as an assassin. Leavitt noted the situation evolved rapidly since Saturday and that Trump himself never used such terms.
Gurulé said such statements undermine public trust in the impartiality of investigations.
“You do not announce your conclusion publicly before an investigation is complete. That is unprecedented and backwards,” he said.
During his call with Trump, Governor Walz’s office stated the governor argued for an impartial investigation of the shootings. Trump agreed to speak with DHS about guaranteeing state investigators could carry out an independent probe.
Trump and Walz also talked about improving coordination on immigration enforcement. The governor’s office reaffirmed the state’s commitment to continuing its practice of honoring requests to detain incarcerated non-citizens until federal authorities can assume custody.